Apparatus for reclaiming paper and paraffin wax



B. B. WICKEY.

APPARATUS FOR RECLAIMING PAPER AND PARAFFIN WAX. APPLICATION FILED ocr. 20, 1919.

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To all u1/wm t may concern Be it known that l, BERTRAM B. Wicker,

a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident oit East Chicago, Lake County, and State t of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful ylm rovements in Apparatus for Reclaiming aper and Paradin Wax., of which the following is declared to be a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention and methodof reclaiming paper and paradin or wax from parailn or wax waste material, and its primary object is to provide an improved apparatus and method, whereby a continuous process of reclaiming paper and parailin or wax may be carried on, that is to say, whereby when the apparatus is set in motion, the reclaiming process may be carried on indeiinitely without the necessity of stopping and starting the apparatus each time a fresh batch of material is introduced into the apparatus. Another object is to increase the capacity of apparatus of this character, without necessarily increasing its size. Another object is to separate the parallin or wax from the material containing it without thel necessity of distilling or otherwise separating it from the chemical used' in removing it from the material.

lt viswell known that much waste paper contains paradin or wax, and one of the principal objects of this invention is to separate the parailn or wax `trom parain or wax paper, whereby the freed paper may be put'to useful purposes, and the paramn or wax may be saved.

With these and other objects and advantages in view this invention consists in any apparatus embodying a chemical bath for liberating the paraiin or wax from waste material, and a conveyor for the material, traveling through the bath and moving and agitating the parallin or wax paper or other material in the bath for a sudicient time to tt permit the bath to act on it and liberate the paraliin or wax. llhe invention further consists in the method of liberating or removing paraffin or wax from waste material containing parailin or wax which consists in conveying the said material through a bath containing a suitable paran liberating agent for a -sucient time to remove the paramn or wax. 'lhe invention further consists in the several novel features hereintt alter fully settorth and claimed. v

lll

All

longitudinal section taken on the broken line relates to apparatus forv :the hot steam coil.

.veniently, the long passage is provided by `the apparatus, and at the other end of the 'rus ron ancienne rara aina raaarrm wa.

Application tiled october 20, i919. aerial Ito. 331,92t.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, 1n which- Fig. 1- is a plan partly broken away of an apparatus embodying a simple form of the present invention; F ig. 2 is a vertical 2-2 of lFig. l; Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on line 3-3 lFig. 2; and F ig. 4f is a vertical cross section taken, on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to said drawing, the reference character 5 designates a tank or vat, which may be of elongated rectangular form having sides 6, ends 7, and bottom 8; if desired a top 9 may be used as a cover for -the tank. ln the vat is a steam coil l() for heating the chemical or solution contained in the tank. Av suitable compound, mixture or solution 13 is contained in the tank, and is preferably maintained at a Ihigh temperature by Said compound, mixture or solution may comprise benzine, benzol, gasoline or other suitable volatile fluids,

but l prefer to employ a chemical comprising hydrated sodium carbonate, in tionsof one pound of sodium carbonate to one gallon of water. A paralin or wax removing agent of this type has the eil'ect of softening and removingthe paraffin or wax the propor- -from the waste paper and floating it to the top of the bath in a comparatively free state, as shown at 14:, whereby the para-Hin or wax, as it accumulates, may be drawn oil' through a normally closed hole or other outlet l5.

ln the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the tank is divided into a plurality of connected passage ways, which form one long continuous passage way, the object be- 'lng to provide means whereby the waste paper may be kept submerged for a comparatively long period of time, and yet perm1t the ,operation to be continuous. Conplacing in the tank a plurality of lengthwise extendlng partitions 16 that extend part way up from the bottom 8.' lhe partitions stop short ot' the ends of the tank to afford communica-tion between the adjacent ones as shown. At one end ol the tank is an intake 21 through which the waste paper is fed to continuous passage way is a discharge opening 22, through which the reclaimed waste paper is discharged into a washing tank or other receptacle. 'lhe intake end 21 and discharge end 22 are in communication only with the intake and discharge ends respectivel of the passageway. Crosswise extending baffle plates 26, 26, project down from the top ofthe tank at the intake and discharge ends of the passageway and extend into the paraffin softening and removing agent and provide invertedv dam like means between the intake opening and passageway and between the passageway and discharge opening, thereby operating to confine the removed paraffin or wax to the passage way between its intake and discharge ends as shown at 14 in Fig. 2.

Horizontally extending screens or other recticulated fabric 20 are placed in the tank between the lower edges of the baiiie plates, said screens extending across the tank from one end to the other except at the inlet and discharge openings, actin as a horizontal open work "wall orpartitlon, spaced intermediate the top and bottom of the tank and forming with the sides and ends of the tank and with the partition 16 a-continuous pas-v sage way or v channel opening upward through the screen, whereby the paraffin or wax which is liberated from the paper, may

rise, pass through the screen and float on top of the chemlcal in the upper space between the baiile plates 26, 26a.

Any suitable means may be employed for conveying the waste paper material through the passage way below the screen, from the intake to the discharge opening, and for agitating it during its travel through said passage way, and for convenience I have illustrated conveyors in the form of propeller blades 17 fast on shafts 18, extending lengthwise in the passa e ways below the screen, from end to end of the tank and journaled in-bearing boxes secured to the ends of the tank. Intermeshing gear wheels 19 are shown as fast on-said shafts outside of one end of the tank for gearing the shafts together and one of said shafts may be slowly rotated by any suitable source of power in the proper direction to ycause the propellers to move the chemical or other paraffin or wax removing agent, and therewith the waste paper through the screened passage way from the intake end to the discharge end thereof. The speed of travel of the propellers should be sufficient to agitate and tumble the waste paper around in the bath, whereby the paraffin or wax may rise from any pockets in the crushed paper. It is understood that waste paper is usually compressed into bales for shipment, and by agitatin the crumbled paper in the bath any poc ets that are formed therein, which' contain the liberated parain or wax are shifted around frequently when traveling through the long assage way,"permittin0' the liberated paraiiu or wax to escape and float to the top of the solution` or chemical agent. The waste paperl'may be detrained around sprocket wheels 27, fast on the shaft 18 at the discharge end and sprocket wheels 28, carried by a shaft 29 journaled in brackets 30 supported by the tank. The belts 25 pass around idlers 31 journaled in the brackets 30 below the sprocket wheels 28, thus providing a simple expedient for making a bend in the conveyor as it passes the idlers 31, to thereby dump the freed waste paper into awashin tank or other receptacle.

n the operation of the apparatus the waste paralin or wax paper is ed into the intake openin and slowly conveyed through the heated cemical in the screened passage way to the discharge end, by the conveyor which also agitates the crumpled paper as above set forth. The agent acts on the paper in the bath and liberates the parafiin or wax which floats to the top and is drawn off when desired. The elevator lifts the freed paper through the dischar e open- 1n and discharges it from the tan rom the above it is apparent that waste araiiin or wax paper may be converted into stock for the manufacture of paper and the paraffin or wax may be cleansed and used for various commercial purposes.

-More or less variation of the exact details of construction is possible Without departing from the spirit of this invention; l desire, therefore, not to limit myself to the exact form of the construction shown and described, butv intend, in the following claims, to point out all of the invention disclosed herein.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing a paraffin or wax removing Huid, a conveyor for the material from which the paraffin or wax is to be removed, traveling under the surface of the fluid, and means under the surface of the fluid for holding the material under the surface thereof.

2. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing a paraffin or wax removing Huid, a combined agitator and conveyor for the material, from w ich the paraffin or wax is to be removed, traveling under the surface of the fluid, and means under the surface of the fluid for holding the material under the surface thereof.

3. An apparatus of the character described, comprisinga tank for containing a paraiin or Wax removing fluid, a conveyor 1,431,553 will:

for the material from which the paraffin or wax is to vbe removed, traveling under the surface of the fluid, and a screen in the fluid above the conveyor for holding the material below the surface of the fluid.

4. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing a paraiiin or wax removing fluid, a. combined. agitator and conveyor for the material, from which the parallin is to be removed, traveling under the surface of the fluid, and a screen in the fluid abovev the conveyor for holding the material below the surface of the fluid.

5. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing a paarilin or wax removing fluid, 'and having a bame plate at each end projecting below the surface of the fluid,a screen connecting the bottoms of said baille plates and a conveyor traveling under said baffle plates and screen.

6. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing a paraiiin or waxremoving fluid, and having a baille plate at each end projecting below the surface of the fluid, a screen connecting the bottoms of said baille plates, a shaft and propellers on said shaft under said screen.

An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing a paraffin or wax liberating agent, said tank having an intake end and a discharge end, and a passage way therebetween, baffle plates extending down into said agent at the ends of said passage way, and a means for conveying material in said passage way under the surface of said agent from the intake to the discharged end.

8. An apparatus oi the character described, comprising a tank for containing an `agent for liberating parafiin or wax from paraffin or wax waste material, partitions in said tank dividing it into a long continuous passage way having an intake and a dischargel end, a horizontal screen submerged in said agent and forming the top of said passageway, baflle plates at the ends of said passage way projecting down into said agent, and a conveyor in said passage way below the screen.,

9. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing an agent for liberating paraffin or wax from paraliin or wax waste material, partitions in said tank dividing it into a long continuous passage way having an intake and a discharge end, a horizontal screen submerged in said agent and forming the top of said passage way, baille plates at the ends of said passage way projecting down into said agent, and a conveyor in said passage way below the screen, having a plurality of propeller blades for agitating and propelling material through said passage way.

10. An apparatus of the character decribed, comprising a tank for containing a paraffin or wax remover, baille plates extending down into said agent and defining the ends of a passage way, and means for agitating and conveying material through said passage way below the surface of said agent. l

ll. An apparatus of the character described, comprising a tank for containing a paraflin or wax remover, baille plates extendin `down into said agent anddeining the en s of a passage Way, means for agitati'ng and conveying material through said passage way below the surface of said agent, and an elevator at the discharge end of said assa e wa p g y BER-TEAM B. WICKEY. 

